Pogonomyrmex californicus is a species of insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

 in family Formicidae. It is endemic to the southwestern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is best known as the ant that is sent out for Uncle Milton's Ant Farm.

Biology

Pogonomyrmex californicus can be found in open, warm, and sandy areas. Typically, they forage during the day as either individuals or in a group, forming columns as they work. They will typically prey on arthropods, although they are also known to go for a variety of seeds. Additionally, they can form colonies of up to hundreds of individuals. The nest entrances are often irregular and are surrounded by loose sand arranged in either a circular or semi-circular pattern. Reproduction also occurs in July, when reproducing ants are present.

Polygynous colonies

It has also been noted that Pogonomyrmex californicus forms multiple queen colonies. Although the majority of colonies will be founded and sustained by one queen, one population has been noted to contain multiple queens, in a relationship that appears to have been started as a cooperative, also known as pleometrosis. Normally, colonies with multiple queens form because over time queens are allowed into a colony which originally started with one queen. Over time, the queens start fighting one another, are killed off by the workers, or both occurs. In this species, it seems that this route occurs, but it not the only way to form a colony with multiple queens.

Range

The insect has a range that stretches from western Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, southern New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, southern Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

, and Sonora, Chihuahua.